Atonement (2007)

Artwork for the Theatrical Release

My first impression of this film, when I watched it back in 2008, was one of awe and anger.  Awe at the explicit beauty of the film.  Awe at the cinematography, the acting, the narrative, and everything else cinematic.  But also anger at this stupid little girl, and her callousness, and all the derisive consequences brought upon by her maliciousness.

Most of that feeling has not changed.  As a matter of fact, it seems to have become more complexed and confusing, and awe-inspiring.

Atonement is pathetically painful on second watching, because you know what's coming, you know the con, you know the game.  But it lures you with its cinematography, it teases you with its sound design, it tugs at you with its script, to the point of catharsis, sheer cinematic ecstasy.

The perfect example of this multilayered buildup, is my realization of the complexity of the sound design and the imaginative instrumentation in the score, which are unexpected and brilliantly executed.  The subtle intonations of a clunky well worn typewriter.  At first clanking away, but soon joining the tempo of the score, all executed in a seemless way, leaving you to assess at which point did the narrator become so musical.  That bit, coupled with the busy buzzy bee trapped in the window, are two of the most memorable things from the film, and that's an unexpected, surprising emotion for a film that, upto that realization, had been so traditional in structure and fare.

The sound design is very thorough throughout, down to the last seconds of the last reel, providing symbolism while setting the pace for the story and hinting at the foreshadowing of things to come.

In execution, the film is very much British in style and presentation, which means the Art Direction is phenomenal.  Like most British films that cross the pond, this film is very literary, and treats every aspect of the film making process as a vehicle for that transgression.

Artwork for the Theatrical Release

The camera work is masterful in subtleties and pristine in purposefulness, working in tangent with the sound design to hide or showcase subjects as needed, building the complexities in the narrative structure and script.  The structure of the narrative functions to elevate what was already an interesting and complex story into one full of intrigue and suspense, and providing one of the best depressing endings.

Ever.

The script is brilliant and multilayered in all sorts of manners, and worth deconstructing and examining.  And the same could be said about the editing which is complex to the point of coming across as simplistic.  As an editor by profession, I can tell you that when the editing is best exercised, it is least noticeable, and least appreciated:  Let this not be one of those cases.

Noted.

Briony Tallis (amen to British adoration with name symbolism) as played by Saoirse Ronan is great:  Creepy, and troubled, and awkward, and childish, and sometimes surprisingly mature in her maliciousness even if naive in conviction or purpose.

Keira Knightley is so beautiful and so splendid an actress, even if in the mainstream, she's still just a pretty face, and that itself distracts from her talents. At times, she is so spectrally beautiful, justly so after all the injustices she's affected by at the hands of destiny, serendipity, and a morbidly horrible little girl.

Atonement is ultimately a story of pain, hurt, horror, penance, and the prayers we toss to the wind, for love, for war, for family, for life.

Try not to cry at the end.  Try not to feel utter pitty for Briony.  Try not to feel miserable.

Miserable but enlightened, and that's all you can ask from a film.

Even if you can't decide whether you can forgive someone who is in so much pain atoning.

Buy this film on Blu-ray, the Art Direction is worth it, even if you're not a particular fan of Keira's astonishing distracting beauty.

There I go, I lost my focus, oh well.